Opinion: DeWine fails East Palestine people, should resign

When elected officials fail to provide for the most fundamental needs of the people, they need to step aside in favor of someone who is actually willing to do the job.

On Feb. 3, a train owned and conducted by Norfolk Southern Company carrying toxic, life-threatening chemicals derailed on its way through the small town of East Palestine, Ohio. Until now, this  town, population 4,917, was a mostly unknown place on the map in east Ohio near the Pennsylvania border with an average household income of $57,455. These families go back generations. Most live paycheck to paycheck, while others receive welfare assistance. They may not be wealthy, but they are rich in their love for one another and their country.

Thanks to social media, the story of the derailment and videos of an explosion got out after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro followed the self-serving advice of Norfolk Southern to do a "controlled burn" of the toxic chemicals. To be clear, the decision to send a life-threatening mushroom cloud of poisonous gas into the air, water and homes of East Palestine was made by two sitting governors at the urging of a company who wanted to move quickly to get back to "business as usual."

The catastrophic explosion was deemed "successful" by both governors under a public relations excuse of "taking the best of two bad options." Was there a third choice that was ignored in DeWine’s rush to appease his donors? That’s right, it has now come out that DeWine received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations in the past from Norfolk and those with ties to the company. What we have witnessed, and what the residents of East Palestine, have lived has been a shameful display of neglect towards our own American citizens.

The people of East Palestine are in disbelief and feel abandoned. Who can blame them? They deserve better from our elected officials. They deserve the truth.

As this environmental nightmare continues to unfold, Moms for America calls on Norfolk Southern (Railway) Company, Governors DeWine and Shapiro, and the Biden administration to stop playing the blame game and provide immediate financial help to the suffering souls of East Palestine. Money, relocation and restitution would be a good start. There is no reason that our own citizens shouldn’t be given the swift financial aid and assistance that we extend to other countries − including Ukraine, Turkey, and anyone else dealing with natural disasters.

Imagine the betrayal that was felt by Ohioans when President Biden showed up in Ukraine this week to the sounds of "controlled sirens" (for better effect) in order to pledge even more money and resources to a war we should not be involved in. In case you are keeping score, it is $113 billion to the people of Ukraine, zero to the forgotten souls of East Palestine.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency boasts on its own website that they are "rooted in the story of a nation committed to finding strength in the face of unpredictable and devastating disasters." Why, then, has it taken FEMA two weeks to get involved? Is this just one more agency politicized by the left?

Are the citizens in East Palatine too poor or too Republican to get the federal help they need? This is a good question for Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg − if only we could find him.

It is gut-wrenching to see the real-life suffering unfold. As a mom, I watched tearfully as Courtney Miller, a single mom of two, described in an interview having to walk to the nearest store for a case of water with her five- and eight-year-old. It was a long walk, breathing in the toxic air, and an even longer haul home. Like others in her town, she does not own a car, she does not have the extra money to spend on water or a hotel, and she does not know how to get any help or answers. This is unacceptable.

Moms for America stands with East Palestine moms and all citizens there who deserve immediate help. They are scared. Some are sick with ongoing symptoms of nausea, rashes and breathing problems. They are forced to wash themselves and their children with bottled water because they don’t trust the EPA or the politicians when they say it is safe to drink, bathe and cook with the water. The fish are dead. The birds are nowhere. And the animals are sick and dying. Parents are afraid to let their kids outside to play in the creeks or yard but are also fearful of keeping them inside their homes that have been violated by poisonous toxins. They need unbiased, objective analysis and answers about the air they breath and the water they are told to drink.

The people of East Palatine will never spend a single day without worrying if they or their children will get cancer from this nightmare.

Who is taking accountability for the worst environmental disaster in Ohio history? DeWine and Shapiro should be forced to resign.

Moms for American represents over 500,000 Moms from across America.  Jenn Giroux is a wife and mother of 9 and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: DeWine fails East Palestine people, should resign